This invention relates to an automatic charging head for use with a pressurized storage tank and, more particularly, the invention is concerned with providing a detachable charging head which fits onto the pressurized container and includes an automatic feed mechanism for supplying and firing cartridges in the charging head until the desired pressure is reached at which time a pressure responsive means operates to interrupt the firing of the cartridges.
Heretofore, it has been common practice to provide a source of pressurized gas by filling a tank to the desired pressure and withdrawing the gases as needed. Many different systems have been devised for filling the tank to obtain the required pressure at the output line. One system includes the firing of a cartridge which contains a combustible gas producing material. When the cartridge is discharged, a chamber is pressurized and the gases therein flow through a check valve into the main tank.
In one pressure tank which utilizes a cartridge discharge to produce the pressurized gases, the charging head and the tank are fabricated as an integral unit, that is, the cartridge firing mechanism is permanently attached to the tank base. This means that each tank must be provided with a separate cartridge firing system. A better and more efficient system would be one where a single charging head could be utilized to service a plurality of tanks. Also it would be most desirable to provide an automatic or semi-automatic charging head wherein the cartridges could be automatically fed into a breech assembly and fired until the desired pressure is reached in the tank at which time a pressure sensitive element would operate to stop further pressurization by halting the automatic feeding mechanism. The hereinafter described automatic detachable charging head effectively overcomes the aforementioned disadvantages and provides a pressurized tank system having the desired features and advantages.